Awesome discussion points, emiko! It's nice to have a fair discussion without too much bloodshed
Just what I needed to ramble on with after work today
When you look at Ayumi Hamasaki, do you see Ayu, the human being, or do you see Ayumi Hamasaki the Entertainer? Is there a grey area?
Initially, I only saw the entertainer. When I first got into her music about 2004 I didn't know anything about her and only had her albums RAINBOW and Ayu Trance 2. RAINBOW spoke to me in its own way but I didn't really begin to see Ayu as anything more until late 2005 after I came here and learned more about her. These days I see Ayu as a human being (and a close friend), which extends beyond her and to all artists I support. Getting close to Ayu's emotions and thought process through this forum has really opened my eyes to how other artist undoubtedly feel at one point or another.
How do you think that affects what you want from what she does? What do you want from her?
I just want her to be happy. I guess that means I push my psuedo-friendship onto her in that way - I want to support her and ensure she can reach her dreams like a friend or family member would....?
Naturally I don't agree with everything she does (lol Sunrise/Sunset and the like) but for these times too, I'll still support her decision. I was pretty upset when she suddenly announced engagement+marriage to Mannie because from my view it was too fast for her but after the initial shock passed I felt more secure about it.
Do you think that being so close to Ayu with social media affects your view of her?
Fo' sho'! Although for the better? I don't know...
Because she's so often on Twitter she feels so close, and its exciting for me as a fan to know she's "there", although on an iPhone 21 hours flight away
I think it's the best and quickest way for her to communicate ideas and thoughts to fans and really heightens her appeal as approachable and caring.
Now if only she'd tweet me again sometime, dammit!
That's the negative side, it feels more personal when you don't get a reply for that same reason xD Ayu you're like
right theeeeeeeeeeeere!!! TWEET ME BACK ZOMG!
How do you feel about the way other people see Ayu?
I hate, hate, HATE when people throw their demands and wishes onto her expecting her to fulfil them. Like all this "omgAyucantcollabwiththatguyhesucks" discussion or "ohmanIwishAyuwoulddoanothersongjustlikethisonebut notquitethesameohnosheborrowedtheguitarsoloandalin efromthatoldsongImgoingtostoplisteningbecauseshesn owsooooooooooounogirinaldesu" wank whenever she does something new.
Ayu's got a bank of over 230 songs under her belt. You don't have to love them all. In fact, if you did love them all I'd question just how much you really paid attention and whether you were listening through rose-coated earphones
Ayu is her own person and while yes, she has chosen to live a life entertaining others it's not an excuse to force her to be unhappy within herself. If she's not allowed to try new things or branch out when she feels the time is right, she'll never develop as an artist and then be criticised for bring lazy. Ayu is not lazy by any definition.
I wish more of her fans would see her as a person and not a wish-fulfilment product. I also wish that people wouldn't call every new song either "epic masterpiece" or "emotionless tripe" (paraphrased). There's got to be something in the middle of these two, yeah? What's so bad/scary about saying "I like Ayu's vocals in progress but I'm not feeling the melody yet".....why does it always have to be I LOVE IT FOREVER AGREE WITH ME OR I STAB YOU IN FACE WITH BROKEN AVEX CD CASE vs I HATE IT AND YOU SHOULD HATE IT TOO OMG I STAB YOU IN NOT FACE BUT SOMEWHERE THAT HURTS.........?
Are you a little pig-headed about your opinions?
If I wasn't I wouldn't be able to call them "my opinions", rather "what so-and-so wants me to think at this given point" lol. I am pretty hard headed but I think I try and see alternative viewpoints, too~
jbrat - nice discussion on the albums, I think you're right and a lot of us are kind of "stuck" with past Ayu, when she's no longer lost. A nice interpretation and timeline I'll keep in mind when I next have a thorough listen to her albums right through :3